The present invention relates to a garment with a removable interior garment, and more particularly, is directed to an activewear garment with a removable bra.
Designing a women""s activewear garment is a difficult problem. Women""s breasts have different sizes, shapes and separations. The amount of desired breast support varies by wearer and by type of activity. While support is necessary, it is also highly desirable to look xe2x80x9cnaturalxe2x80x9d; thus, the bra should be unobtrusive. A further challenge is that the garment must be economic to manufacture.
A sleeveless top such as a camisole or tank style of activewear garment will now be discussed. It will be appreciated that this discussion also applies to the upper body portion of a women""s leotard or one-piece swimsuit.
Generally, when the same feature appears on the left and right sides of a garment, only one instance is numbered, to avoid cluttering the illustration.
FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show views of a tank top with built-in underwire bra. The exterior of garment 1 appears smooth, as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 1 shows a view of the interior portion of the front with the back opened for illustration; the actual garment has a continuous back. Liner 2 extends along the front of shoulder strap 11 from the shoulder seam of shoulder strap 11 to slightly under the wearer""s bust line. The top and sides of liner 2 are permanently sewn into the shoulder seams of strap 11, the side seams of strap 11, neckline seam 8, and garment side seams 7. The bottom of liner 2 is sewn to elastic band 4. Elastic band 4 extends horizontally across the wearer""s chest at slightly below her heartline. The ends of elastic band 4 are permanently sewn into garment side seams 7. At the center of liner 2, at the top of the wearer""s heart, fastening patch 6 is sewn to liner 2. Fastening patch 6 permanently anchors the inner ends of underwires 5. The outer ends of underwires 5 are permanently sewn into the armhole seam formed at the outer side of shoulder strap 11. Panel 3 has a top edge formed by wrapping its material around underwires 5 and a bottom edge sewn to elastic band 4; the sides of panel 3 are permanently sewn into side seams 7. Side seam 7 has selvedge 9.
FIG. 2 shows that, in use, the wearer""s breast mass is supported by panel 3, specifically in the pouch area formed by panel 3 and liner 2, when underwire 5 is pulled away from liner 2.
FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show views of a swimsuit with a removable bra portion, reproduced from U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,278 to Irwin Greenblatt. FIG. 5 shows a bra portion having vertical extensions 40 bearing fastening material 60. Attached to side extension 50 is fastening material 70. FIG. 4 shows swimsuit 20 having shoulder straps 22 bearing fastening material 80 adapted to couple to fastening material 60 on the shoulder extensions 40 of the bra portion. Swimsuit 20 also has side seams 24 bearing panels of fastening material 90 adapted to couple to fastening material 70 on the side extensions 50 of the bra portion. The fastening material consists of hook and loop fasteners stitched to the swimsuit and bra portion, but may be any suitable fastening material or connectors. FIG. 6 shows another bra portion lacking vertical extensions and thus being suitable for a strapless swimsuit such as a xe2x80x9cbandeauxe2x80x9d; this bra portion has side extensions 350 bearing fastening material 370. When the bra portion is inserted, the back portion of the suit functions as the back of the bra portion. That is, the inserted bra portion and the back of the suit form a bra.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show views of a halter top with a removable bra portion, reproduced from U.S. Pat. No. 2,493,179 to Margaret H. Wittenberg. As shown in FIG. 8, bra portion 10B has sides with buttonholes 40B, for detachably securing the sides of the bra portion to garment side extensions 46 bearing buttons 38B. The bra portion has loops 46 at the top of the side portions for detachably securing the bra portion to garment hooks 48. The garment hooks 48 are part of buckles 50 carried by garment interior straps 52 stitched inside garment front portion 18B. Garment halter strap 54 is terminated at the top ends of garment interior straps 52. When the bra portion is secured to the garment, the back of the garment also functions as the back of the bra, to eliminate the need to provide a back portion to the bra portion, and improving the appearance of the garment on the wearer.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show views of a camisole with built-in underwire bra. This camisole has a very low back. Underwire 71 is located in a channel formed by stitching garment 60. Top lining 68 is fixed between the neck edge and contour seam 70. Bottom lining 69 is fixed between contour seam 70 and underwire 71. Top lining 68 is formed from the same fabric as the main body of garment 60. Bottom lining 69 is a lighter weight stretchy fabric. Piece 72 is formed of a non-stretchy fabric and is permanently sewn into the neck edge of the garment at its top, and at its side, to the center parts of underwires 71. The bottom edge of piece 72 is loose.
FIGS. 11-14 show views of a camisole with built-in cookies. FIG. 13 shows cookie 93, a foam pad for wearing at the base of a breast to increase apparent breast size due to its own volume and by pushing the breast up thereby creating more cleavage. Liner 80 is permanently sewn at its top in the neck edge of the camisole, at its sides in cookie contour seams 87 and at its base into horizontal contour seam 94. Elastic band 92 extends around the inner circumference of the camisole. The top of elastic band 92 is sewn to the bottom of shelf piece 91. At the back of the camisole, the top of shelf piece 92 is sewn in the top edge of the camisole. At the front of the camisole, the top of shelf piece 92 is sewn into horizontal contour seam 94. Cookie inner piece 89 extends from the junction of horizontal contour seam 94 and cookie contour seam 87 along about xc2xe of contour seam 87 and is sewn into these seams; the outer side edge of cookie inner piece 89 is loose. Cookie outer piece 90 is sewn at its outer side edge to the side of the camisole, at its top edge to cookie contour seam 87 and at its bottom edge to horizontal contour seam 94. Cookie outer piece 90 extends along about ⅓ of the cookie contour seam 87. The inner side edge of cookie outer piece 90 is loose. Cookie outer piece 90 overlaps cookie inner piece 89 such that the loose edges can be pulled apart to insert cookie 93 and then returned to their flat state to create a retaining pocket for cookie 93. Horizontal contour seam 94 and cookie contour seams 87 are visible on the front of the camisole.
FIGS. 15 and 16 show views of a camisole with built-in shelf bra. The camisole has a continuous back. The top of liner 103 is sewn into neck seam 102 and top back seam 105. The bottom of liner 103 is sewn to elastic band 104, forming a floating shelf bra.
FIGS. 17 and 18 show views of another camisole with built-in shelf bra. This camisole also has a continuous back. The top of liner 113 is sewn into the camisole""s neck seam, while the sides of liner 113 are sewn into sides 116 of the camisole. The bottom of liner 113 is sewn into horizontal chest seam 1114, forming a completely built-in shelf bra.
FIGS. 19 and 20 show views of yet another camisole with built-in shelf bra. This camisole has a continuous back. The top of liner 125 is sewn into the bottom seam of v-neck portions 123 and 124. The sides of liner 125 are sewn into sides 127 of the camisole. The bottom of liner 125 is sewn to elastic band 126, which is loose in its main portion although sewn at its side edges into sides 127 of the camisole.
None of these garments provide adequate support for high impact activity across a range of breast sizes. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved women""s activewear garment.
In accordance with an aspect of this invention, there is provided a women""s activewear garment comprising an outer garment and a bra portion. The outer garment has a back band with back fasteners at the side edges of the back band. The portion has a bottom band with bra fasteners as the side edges of the bottom band. The bra fasteners couple with respective ones of the back fasteners to create a continuous band around the chest of a wearer. The back band of the outer garment and the bottom band of the bra portion are formed of material having substantially the same elasticity.
It is not intended that the invention be summarized here in its entirety. Rather, further features, aspects and advantages of the invention are set forth in or are apparent from the following description and drawings.